Contentment
by itsbetterwith2
Summary: A one shot about the lives of Rose and the (metacrisis) Doctor after the events of JE. The ending of the Time-Lord-DoctorxRose ship and the beginning of TentooxRose.


Author's Note: Hi! This is the first fanfiction I've ever written! I just felt like I needed a story that as well as showing that Rose and Tentoo are happy together, also deals with her feelings for the Time Lord Doctor. There's probably plenty of fanfics doing that, but I just wanted to try it myself.

I hope, it gives some closure with the whole thing. Though I'll never get over the Doctor and Rose :(.

* * *

She talks to him on the TARDIS when they're all together, returning the planets to where they belong and saving the universe- just like they've always done. He's so very much the same and as she chats away with him, part of her forgets that he's the metacrisis, She feels as if she's talking to the Doctor.

But he's not _the_ Doctor.

* * *

When she finds out she's being dumped back in the parallel universe with the metacrisis, she's hurt- it wasn't supposed to be like this. After finding her way back, she was going to stay in the TARDIS and be with the Doctor. _Forever_. Just like she promised.

She protests that he's not the doctor. But he insists they're the same except he can grow old with her, and she's tempted- but still conflicted. So she asks them a question, a question that has been on her mind for so long.

How was that sentence going to end?

Perhaps inside, she knows that he loves her. It was in the way that he looked at her, and in the way he held her hand and in the way he hugged her during their time together. But she needs him to be able to say it.

He doesn't say it.

It breaks her heart. She travelled universes to get back to him, and he still won't say it. Those three words.

So she turns to the metacrisis Doctor.

And he tells her.

"I love you"

She's so overcome with joy and relief and her heart fills with warmth and happiness- so she kisses him.

But then she hears the sound of the TARDIS dematerialising. And she pulls away.

He's left her, again. He didn't even say goodbye.

But she feels the metacrisis take her hand, and she looks at him, and sees those familiar brown eyes gazing at her with so much love. She wants to love this part human Doctor, but the guilt and hurt eat away at her and she turns away. She needs some time.

She broke her promise. She said forever to him. To the Time Lord Doctor. And it hurts that she can't give him her forever. So she tells the part human doctor that she needs time, they need to take it slow.

* * *

Every single day he tells her. Those three words. In the morning, the evening, over the phone, through a text, whispered, shouted, murmured- all sorts of ways, but he always tells her.

And every time he does, her heart flutters and she blushes and smiles. Sometimes she feels like replying and saying she loves him too, but still her heart mourns and aches for the Time Lord Doctor- so she doesn't.

She thinks, that if the Time Lord Doctor came back, and asked her to come with him, she would.

The part human Doctor is still, well, the Doctor. He's so playful and excited, he babbles and smiles that manic grin. But he's so open to her, not just regarding his love, but his past as well. He doesn't shut himself off from her as much as he used to either. He says that now that he has the chance, to show her how much he loves her and how much he missed her, he won't waste a second of it.

And she realises that, she's falling in love with the Doctor.

This Doctor, all over again.

And she needs to tell him.

So that night, when he goes to her room and says

"Goodnight, Rose. I love you"

and turns to leave, not expecting an answer, she calls out to him.

"Doctor, I love you too"

* * *

Every single day she tells him. Those three words. In the morning, the evening, over the phone, through a text, whispered, shouted, murmured- all sorts of ways, but she always tells him.

* * *

Their relationship isn't perfect. They argue over silly things and serious things alike and sometimes she ends up saying something cruel to him and sometimes it's the other way around, and he says something cruel to her.

They don't mean the things they say, and she apologises, and he does too.

Their relationship is also filled with so much love and happiness. It's filled with kisses, hugs, perfect dates like picnics under the night sky- and also not so perfect dates like alien invasions during dinner.

* * *

She still thinks of him- the Time Lord Doctor- and her heart still fills with sadness, but no longer because she yearns to be with him rather than the metacrisis Doctor. The Doctor told her what would happen to Donna, and how he would be all alone. Her heart breaks for him, and she hopes that he isn't alone for too long. She knows that he won't. Sometime in his future, he'll meet a woman called River Song whom he means the world to, and she'll probably mean the world to him too. Mind you- she's slightly jealous of this 'River Song' who, according to the Doctor, may actually be his future wife, but she's also happy for him that he finds another love, and this time, doesn't hold back his feelings and lets himself be happy.

She still loves him, she always will, and she still misses him. She still feels hurt that he never said goodbye. But she loves the Doctor who is with her now, who shows her he loves her and can grow old with her.

She thinks, that if the Time Lord Doctor came back, and asked her to come with him, she wouldn't. It would be painful, but she knows that he will find more friends (and loves) who will love him just as much as she does.

And she won't leave her Doctor- the part human Doctor, because she promised forever to him.

* * *

Their 110th date.

She lay on a picnic blanket with the Doctor, fingers entwined, under the night sky, in a park in Barcelona. She snuggles up to the doctor and closes her eyes as she listens to him point out the constellations to her.

After a while, she realises he's stopped talking, and she opens her eyes and finds herself gazing into his beautiful chocolate brown eyes. Before she can ask why he stopped, he asks

"Rose Tyler, will you marry me?"

* * *

The stars twinkle playfully in the vast navy sky and the candles bathe the aisle and the gazebo in a soft warm light. But she took no notice of the stunning sky or the beautiful effect of the candles, her only focus was the dashing man in front of her, who's eyes were also focused intently on her as they waited for the final sentence.

"You may now kiss the bride"

The Doctor leans closer, but not to kiss her- not just yet. Instead, he brings his mouth to her ear and whispers something beautiful.

His name.

And then proceeds to do exactly what that last instruction said.

* * *

After the Doctor runs out the back to answer little Freya Tyler's whining, she walks over to the sink, about to wash the dishes, but stops at the sight outside the window.

A young man with floppy hair seated on a swing in the small park across the road from their house, looking at her with a gentle smile. He wore a brown tweed jacket and- was that- yes- a bow tie. She's never seen him before- and yet, instead of being creeped out, she feels a mixture of sadness and happiness. And she knew it was him.

She steps out of the house and crosses the road to the park, smiling as she walks over to him.

"Hello doctor" she says softly.

"Hello rose...it's good to see you" he replies.

"How long have you got?"

"About two minutes"

She laughs sadly at that. But this time, she knows what to say.

"Doctor, I want you to know that, I'm happy, so very happy and for that, thank you."

He smiles in response, and is about to reply when she cuts him off. She has more to say.

"Leaving me that second time all those years ago...I can't say I'm at peace with that yet." Her voice begins to break as the memories and emotions resurface, but she continues, "you didn't even say goodbye, Doctor"

At the last sentence, a tear rolls down her face, followed by another, and another. She closes the distance between them and hugs him, crying tears of heartbreak, but also joy. She feels his hand come up and rub her back to comfort her.

The hug isn't wrong or unnatural but it's slightly awkward and unfamiliar, and her heart aches as she thinks,

He's not _my_ Doctor.

He's changed so much. He's met so many new people who have helped shape him and he's been on so many adventures that she wasn't a part of. It's not because he's regenerated that she feels he's not her Doctor, but he's changed so much, and now, he's not the Doctor that she knew.

But she'll still always care about him.

The pull apart and she wipes away her tears, but she's still sniffling and she struggles to smile as she prepares for what she is about to say.

"Doctor, I need a proper goodbye. _Please_"

He smiles again, but it's a very small smile, and his eyes are so sad.

"Goodbye Rose Tyler"

She wants this moment to be as happy as she can make it, so she gives him a grin, determined not to shed any more tears.

"Goodbye Doctor"

As soon as she utters those words, she turns around and walks back home, her heart breaking with every step.

But then she hears the sound of her Doctor and their daughter's laughter from her home, and she picks up her pace and crosses the road to reach the two people whom she loves most in the world.

* * *

As soon as Rose leaves the park, the Doctor turns and leaves the park through a different exit. He walks through a quiet suburban street and turns into an alley where a crack glows in the brick. He opens the crack with some sonicking, and smiling wistfully, he jumps through it, and the crack closes up behind him.

* * *

**AN:**

**Please review , it would make me super duper happy XD**

**Also, if you have a better title for this story, please let me know. The current one is awful D:**

So did you like it? Did it give you any closure?

It is my first fanfiction, so please be nice with any criticism, which I will gladly accept and learn from. Though, I'm not sure if I'll keep writing, maybe it'll just be this one.

Also, what I said about River (about how the Doctor loves her), isn't actually how I truly feel lol, but it felt right in the story. Though, I don't actually ship the Doctor with River, but that's just my own personal opinion.


End file.
